Posts

According to Irish legend, it was St Brigid of
Kildare who, in the fifth century, asked St Patrick to let women propose to
men.

After some discussion, a deal was
struck: a woman could ask a man, but only on February 29th. Some versions say that when St Patrick agreed to this, St
Brigid dropped to one knee and proposed, but St Patrick refused. To soften the rejection
he kissed her on the cheek and gave her a silk gown.

(Is it just us or does this sound like a lucky escape!) Other European traditions dictate that if a man refuses, he must buy the woman 12 pairs of gloves so that she can hide her bare finger.

In Scottish tradition, women would wear red petticoats so that the man might have some warning of their intentions. Of course now, women are free to propose whenever they choose, but there's a nice novelty to the idea.

It's certainly something a lesbian couple might incorporate into a proposal. Or not, and that’s what’s great about equal marriage: same-sex couples aren’t as con…

Bridebook's survey of 5,000 UK brides has uncovered some interesting information about wedding planning over the past year. Here are some of the best bits: The average bride spent 970 hours planning her
wedding. 64% were stressed about going over budget, and 1 in
5 did go over. Only 5% paid for a wedding planner to help 10% admitted to using their work's office postal system to
mail out invites. 76% of couples took a wedding selfie, and there was
a 50% increase in the use of exclusive hashtags #Unsurprising?53% of London couples said they’d have sold a
family member to pay for the wedding. 41% of brides in the Midlands would ban their
parents from helping to plan the wedding. Valentine’s Day was the one day that most brides want to
be proposed on. 56% of couples had a disagreement over guest lists 21% felt let down by a supplier and 18% felt
overcharged.

The survey was carried out by Bridebook. Bridebook is the world's first digital wedding and planning toolkit with over 139,000 …

Digital Pride is coming in April 2016: The first online, global Pride festival.Pride should be for everyone everywhere, but often it can't be. In many parts of the world it isn't legal or socially acceptable to be gay. That's why when Gay Star News contacted us about Digital Pride, we knew we had to tell you guys about it.

Here's what Gay Star News has to say about Digital Pride:

Everything a Pride should be for everyone in the world.

The LGBTI Pride movement is going fully online for the first time with a new
global event – Digital Pride.

Created by Gay Star News, the Digital Pride festival will start on 25 April
with the main Pride day on 30 April.

It will be the first Pride anyone, anywhere in the world can join in – all they
need is a smartphone, computer or tablet.

You will be invited to join live-streamed video discussions on topics ranging
from identity and isolation to international LGBTI rights.

The Italian Senate has postponed its debate on same-sex unions because of concerns over adoption rights. The delay is likely to last until at least February
23rd. Opposition to the civil union bill seems focused on provisions for adoption. Opponents are concerned it could encourage surrogacy, which is illegal in Italy. And this worry does seem reflected amongst the Italian population
where support for same-sex unions is high, but support for same-sex adoption is
low. In 2015, Italy was criticised by the European Court
of Human Rights for failing to offer any kind of legal provision to same-sex
couples.

Two fantastic venues are hosting their wedding fayres on Sunday February 28th – The Leeds Club and Royal Holloway. First up, The Leeds Club in, well, Leeds is hosting a
wedding fayre as part of ‘The Big Day Leeds’. Guests will be able to explore
the venue and chat with the experienced in-house wedding team. They’ll be homemade cakes, fizz and copies of
the venue’s 2016/17 wedding brochure available, too.

The Leeds Club is a Victorian building with a
modern twist, and we think you’ll absolutely love it. One of the big selling
points for prospective couples is the exclusive use of the venue on the wedding
day. You can reserve your space for
the 28th, by following this link and emailing Molly. The event is open from 11am to 3pm.

The Founder's Building, Royal Holloway, Surrey.

We have some impressive venues listed in our
directory, but The Founder’s Building at Royal Holloway in Surrey really is
something else. This building just doesn’t
take a bad photograph. Sitting in 135 acres of …

Gay Star News has very kindly sent us an exclusive video to share with our readers. Marriage equality in Europe is still an
ongoing process, but this video is a positive reminder of how far LGBTI rights have
progressed in the last few decades.

On
Thursday February 18th, the East Sussex National Hotel in Uckfield
is hosting a wedding open evening between 6 and 8pm. This is the perfect
opportunity to see the venue dressed for the occasion, and to speak to their
experienced and friendly team. This
really is the resort that has everything: two championship golf courses, a health
club and spa all sent in 1100 acres of countryside.

One of the big selling points to this venue is
the flexible approach to wedding planning. Whatever your budget, ceremony or
guest list, the staff at East Sussex National will help to create your perfect
day. We'd recommend viewing some of their packages on the website. You can view their online wedding brochure here

We’ve covered a lot of country wedding venues
recently, so it’s nice to kick off the virtual wellies and get stuck into a city venue. And if you're looking for venues and wedding fayres in Edinburgh, then we've one that we think you'll absolutely love. The George Hotel, Edinburgh, is hosting its wedding open day on Sunday February 21st, and you're all invited. The location is perfect: 5 minutes from Edinburgh’s
Waverley Train Station and within walking distance of all city centre
attractions. But don’t think there won’t
be glorious photo opportunities just because you’re in the thick of the city.
The George boasts a beautiful panorama as well as an outdoor terrace, and the
venue has access to the Queen Street Gardens which are a two-minute walk away.

Weddings and civil partnerships held here will also
benefit from the expertise of experienced wedding planners and conscientious, knowledgeable
and courteous staff. Interested? Why wouldn’t you be! The George is holding its…

We’d like to
wish everyone who visits our blog a very happy Valentine’s weekend. If we could, we’d
shower you all in chocolates, roses and bubble bath (probably not all at once, though). Let us know what you’re planning this weekend (even
if it’s just eating ice cream straight from the tub). As we'll be living vicariously through you. As usual, you know where to find us: Twitter and
Facebook. Got engaged this weekend? Give yourself a head start by checking out our wedding directory.

But the judge ruled that opposite-sex couples are not discriminated against. Legal equality, she said, is already available to them through marriage. It looks likely, too, that the Government will consider phasing out civil partnerships altogether. Thereby making any changes to the law now both unnecessary and expensive. There are an estimated 3 million cohabiting couples in the UK, many of whom might welcome the option of a civil union. Marriage, as an instrument of the state, does have something of an awkward history, especially for women, and it isn’t everyone who wants that association tied into their relationship. The UK is in a unique position. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Ireland …

Askham Hall, near Penrith, Cumbria, is an outstanding
country venue set in acres of beautiful gardens.

What really impresses us about this venue is that it has all the character you'd expect from a Grade 1 listed property but without being overly ostentatious: there's a warm, friendly and welcoming atmosphere throughout the ceremony and venue space.

Your wedding day is in very good hands. The addition of Bank Barn for weddings is a masterstroke: a carefully considered space that's available for couples to decorate as they see fit.

Well, would you look at that! We’d like to say a
huge THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to vote for us. We're only a small blog, but equal marriage is something we're very proud to be associated with. And to be shortlisted for the UK Blog Awards is both humbling and exciting! Susan is hoping to make the ceremony in London in April, so we'll keep everyone updated on how we get on.

Popular Posts

It might be hard to imagine, but spring isn’t too far away. For couples planning nuptials over the next few months, it’s time to start thinking about the added touches that will really make your wedding pop.

We think you’ll agree that a little bit of colour goes a long way, and that’s why we’re smitten with Pantone colour of the year inspired confetti. Use the pick-and-mix tool on the Shropshire Petals website to get inspired and get colourful with your wedding day confetti.

Confetti inspired by Pantone's colour of the year

Every year, Pantone releases its colour of the year and 2017’s is Greenery. Perfect for spring, green is a versatile colour that will combine wonderfully with a variety of other colours, making spring 2017 an exciting time to get married. After choosing your colour scheme it can be difficult to match every little detail exactly, so the perfect solution is to use different tones of the same colour or several colours to compliment your main theme. Shropshire Peta…

Hen, stag and hag parties are big business. They can be big headaches, too. Once you’ve chosen what you want to do, picked who to invite, synchronised availability, made the booking, collected the money, sorted the transport and everything else there’s still the chance that what you’ve booked is actually a bit – well – shit. There’s so much pressure now on couples and their entourage to get everything right. Expectations are big, and so are budgets (even when the attendees might prefer it if they weren’t), but at the heart of it, hen, stag and hag dos have always been about giving the person getting married a good send off. That’s why we were intrigued when we heard about the launch of THATMuse (Treasure Hunt At The Museum). Here’s what they have to say: "Hen and Stag nights may fill some people with abject dread, envisioning a night of clichéd debauchery and bad decisions. For those who would rather marvel over the chiselled physique of a Grecian torso than carousing the city str…

The UK boasts a fantastic Pride scene and 2017 will be no different. Each month we’ll be listing upcoming local and national Pride events to keep you entertained and empowered across the summer.

Getting married? Pride is a fab excuse for a hen, stag or hag do. Exeter Pride 201713 May 2017In its ninth year, this is Devon’s largest pride event. Daytime events will be family-friendly and include live music, a parade, market stalls, film showings and panel debates. Daytime events are free to attend, and they’ll be plenty of activities for young adults and children, too. Lancaster Pride 201720 May 2017 There’s not much information around about Lancaster Pride at the moment. Keep checking the website for information as it appears. Birmingham Gay Pride 201727th & 28th May 2017Birmingham Pride is one of the biggest LGBT events in the UK, offering some superb musical talent right across the bank holiday weekend that includes: Dua Lipa, Basement Jaxx, Gabrielle, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Boney…

This is the new blog for Pink Wedding Days. We blog about civil partnerships and gay marriage in the UK.
Our main site is Pink Wedding Days.co.uk and we've been helping gay and lesbian couples plan their big day since 2005. Covering the UK, our directory of pink friendly wedding venues and services is growing all the time, and we'd love to help you, too.
See more at: www.pinkweddingdays.co.uk
or call us: 0121 277 4710